DH electronics awarded as TOP-innovator again

Date : 24. January 2021

We are proud to be among the most innovative companies in the German SME sector again in 2021. DH electronics has been awarded the TOP 100 seal for the second time after 2019 this year. This award honors particularly innovative medium-sized companies. Previously, DH electronics had proven its innovative strength in a scientific selection process. Here we share an excerpt from the official press release of TOP 100:

Award-winning innovative strength: DH electronics has been awarded the TOP 100 seal 2021 for the second time. This award honors particularly innovative medium-sized companies. DH electronics had previously demonstrated its innovative strength in a scientific selection process.

On behalf of compamedia, the organizer of the TOP 100 innovation competition, the innovation researcher Prof. Dr. Nikolaus Franke and his team examined the innovative strength of DH electronics. The researchers used around 120 test criteria from five categories as a basis: Innovation-promoting top management, innovation climate, innovative processes and organization, external orientation/open innovation and innovation success. The core question is whether innovations are the result of a planned approach or a product of chance, i.e., the repeatability of innovation performance. And it is also about whether and how the corresponding solutions succeed on the market (further information on the test criteria can be found at www.top100.de/pruefkriterien). Due to the current situation, this round also included a special section in which the entrepreneurial response to the Corona crisis was examined. DH electronics is now among the top innovators for the second time, following its first successful participation in 2019.

DH electronics is based in the electronics industry. The company has made a name for itself primarily in the field of embedded systems and develops smart hardware and software solutions. The hardware and software solutions of the medium-sized company are used in very different industries:

• Building technology: smart home, building, smart city
• eMobility & Transportation
• Measurement & laboratory technology
• Mechanical & plant engineering
• Medical technology & healthcare

The two founders and managing directors Stefan Daxenberger and Helmut Henschke have been friends since their student days and founded today's DH electronics in 1991. At the beginning, Managing Director Stefan Daxenberger would never have imagined that the company now employs more than 40 permanent staff and usually between five and eight working students and graduates: "Back then, Helmut and I used to spend our nights and weekends working on our own projects in parallel to our main jobs. At that time we were happy if we could cover our costs halfway, there was no thought of having our own employees. However, we secretly dreamed of it and therefore did not give up even in difficult times."

This year DH electronics celebrates its 30th anniversary and was able to achieve a turnover of 6.4 million euros in 2020. "We are really proud of that already, without our Digital Heroes team we would never have come this far," says Helmut Henschke. As a hidden champion in the electronics industry, DH electronics has set itself the goal of actively shaping the digital world of tomorrow. The company achieves this goal particularly through its great willingness to innovate. With more than 10% of sales, DH electronics invests an above-average amount in its own innovation projects and deals with new technologies within the framework of research projects. For example, heating and cooling systems or lighting solutions are to become more efficient thanks to artificial intelligence and thus save energy.

Since 2020, Magdalena Daxenberger has been responsible for innovation management in the family business in her role as Marketing and Innovation Manager. With a degree in electrical engineering, she takes care of the strategic orientation at DH electronics with the goal of creating optimal starting conditions for a success story. As a family person and one of few women in the tech industry, she attaches great importance to the compatibility of family and career. For this reason, too, she advocated flexible and diverse work for tomorrow in a family-friendly environment.

Prof. Dr. Nikolaus Franke, the scientific director of TOP 100, is impressed by the award-winning medium-sized companies. "The TOP 100 companies have consistently focused on being as innovative as possible," he notes. On November 26, there will be another reason to celebrate: Then all award winners of the current TOP 100 year will come together to receive congratulations from Ranga Yogeshwar at the 7th German SME Summit in Ludwigsburg. The science journalist has accompanied the innovation competition as a mentor for ten years.

Stefan Daxenberger and Helmut Henschke: "We are very proud of this award, which we were only able to achieve thanks to the excellent cooperation with our Digital Heroes team and our partners. For this we would like to thank our partners, customers, suppliers and especially our employees. We look forward to further successful cooperation and successful projects in the coming years!"